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All You Ever Needed or Wanted to Know About Ketchup

I love ketchup; it's good on just about anything. Whether you call it ketchup, catsup, catchup, tomato ketchup, tomato sauce, red sauce, Tommy sauce, Tommy K, or dead horse, everyone has tried it, and most people love it. As such, I've decided to put together all the information you will ever need to know about ketchup; perhaps, way more than you have ever wanted to know as well.

Facts about ketchup:

*97% of American homes keep ketchup in their kitchen.*Each person eats about 3 bottles a year.*A tablespoon of ketchup has 16 calories and no fat.*4 tablespoons of ketchup have the nutritional value of an entire ripe, medium tomato.*As with wines, there are good and bad ketchup years depending on how sweet and flavorful the tomato harvest.*Most brands are made from tomato paste or tomato concentrate, boiled down in late summer when tomatoes are harvested, and used throughout the year to cook the final product.*Ketchup made in summer is made directly from ripe tomatoes.*Ketchup is great for restoring the glow to copper pots and pans. The acid in ketchup removes tarnish and brings out the shine.*In the 18th and 19th century, ketchup was a generic term used for various sauces whose only common ingredient was vinegar.*There is more to ketchup than just tomato ketchup. Some of the many varieties that have been popular include lobster, walnut, mushroom, cucumber, cranberry, oyster, lemon, grape, and anchovy.*Heinz ketchup was introduced in 1876 as a "Blessed relief for Mother and the other women in the household!"*Heinz sells more than 50% of the ketchup sold in the U.S.*Unopened bottles of ketchup can be stored for 1 year on a cool, dark, dry shelf. Tightly covered opened bottles will last a month in a cool, dark, dry place.*Richard Nixon liked ketchup on his cottage cheese.*Tomato Catsup has a high acid content (due to both the tomatoes and vinegar in it) and therefore does not have to be refrigerated after opening. It is safe to store it at room temperature, but it will taste better if kept refrigerated.*Sales of Salsa overtook Ketchup sales in 1991 (in terms of dollar value).

History of Ketchup:

Ketchup dates back as far as 1600 AD when sailors traveling to China discovered a sauce made of soy or oysters called ‘ketsiap’. This version quickly changed ingredients to include mushrooms, anchovies, shallots, and lemon peel. Then in the late 1700’s tomato ketchup appeared in Nova Scotia and began the transformation to today’s sweet tomato version.

Ketchup began to be commercially available in the United States during the 1830’s when a New England farmer bottled and sold his version of the tomato condiment. In 1837 ketchup gained in popularity when Jonas Yerkes bottled and sold ketchup in quart and pint sized bottles.

Then in 1872 HJ Heinz began to sell what we know today as Heinz Ketchup. Heinz’s recipe is the same today as it was when he placed this popular condiment on store shelves everywhere. The catsup spelling went out of popularity in 1981 when Ronald Regan’s administration declared ‘Ketchup’ a vegetable that could be used in school lunches. Public outcry caused a reversal of this ruling and today ketchup is back as a condiment.

Roast the onions and garlic in the broiler until charred. Toast the cloves, allspice, mustard seeds, and celery seeds in olive oil over low heat. Be careful not to burn the spices. Add all the ingredients to a large stock pot and simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally.

Puree all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth and return to the stock pot. Simmer for another hour to thicken.

Pictures:

First came the glass bottle.

Then the squirt bottle.

Then the new and improved squirt bottle with less mess.Perhaps next we will all be getting our ketchup from little alien's heads. Nothing says delicious ketchup like a weird tomato head lady.

Very old ketchup bottle.

A hanging bottle of ketchup in Norway. Come on, we aren't gerbils with water bottles.

Fancy squirt bottle.

Ketchup even comes in packets.

A tomato shaped ketchup bottle.

Yes, even a woman. Wow.

Stylish and practical.

Ah, a little baby ketchup bottle.

Apparently this is a bottle topper, so you can make your ketchup look like bloody nasal discharge. Delicious!A vintage ketchup ad for Blue Label ketchup.

A fancy retro ketchup dispenser.

A ketchup dispensing gun. Sweet.A giant water tower bottle of ketchup, or in this case, catsup.